Welcome

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a nationally acclaimed garden with one of the largest and most diverse collections of landscape plants adapted for landscape use in the Southeast. Plants especially adapted to Piedmont North Carolina conditions are collected and evaluated in an effort to find superior plants for use in southern landscapes.

Moonlight in the Garden

With Our Friends at Southern Lights of Raleigh

Members Preview Night
Tuesday, November 7 – 7:00 pm–9:00 pm

Moonlight in the Garden returns this November with more lights, more nights. Food trucks, live music, marshmallows and fire pits—they're all back. Don't miss the only opportunity to experience the JC Raulston Arboretum after dark. We'll open our gates each evening for you, your family, and friends to explore this nighttime wonder custom designed and installed by John Garner and his team at Southern Lights of Raleigh.

Douglas Ruhren Named Gardens Manager

It is with great pleasure that we announce Douglas Ruhren as the newest member of the JC Raulston Arboretum team. Douglas has a long history of working with the JCRA as a volunteer where he has helped maintain the Perennial Border and taught classes for many years beginning in the 1990s. His career has included private estates and public gardens notably participating in the design of Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens and becoming the head gardener there as well as acting as horticulturist for the American Camellia Society.

Doug's experience includes designs for the JC Raulston Arboretum, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Bartlett Research Arboretum, Highpoint University, and Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden along with numerous private projects. He brings a wealth of gardening know how, extensive plant knowledge, and creative design expertise to the JCRA where he will take the lead in grounds maintenance and plant production.

Here We Grow Glow Again

Last year JCRA's Moonlight in the Garden was a smashing success. We're back at it again with our partner Southern Lights of Raleigh. Thanks to your generosity we were able to make some of the lighting and infrastructure a permanent part of the JCRA including the Fireflies at our entrance and pole lights partially along the Perennial Border.

We'd like to continue that trend and make even more of the lighting a permanent feature of the garden. Lighting is an investment in your Arboretum and helps us to put on evening events and provide more rental options—one of our primary funding sources. Whether you fund an entire project or just a portion, your gift helps the JCRA glow even brighter.